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(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet l.

M. GqLITTLEWORTH. SAFETY CLUTCH POR INGLINED RAILWAYS, aw.

Nov. 537,783. Patented Apr'u 16, 1895` (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheetl 2. M. C. LITTLEWORTH.

SAFETY CLUTCH FOR INGLINED RAILWAYS, am. No. 537,783. Patented Apr. 16, 1895.

wxTN EssEs lNvENToR NiTED l STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MALCOLM O. LITTLEWORTH, OE DULUTH, MINNESOTA, ASSIGNOR OF FOUR- EIFTHS TO WILLARD A. GOULD, WESLEYIC. GOULD, MARTHA A. GOULD, AND ELLA O. LAKE, SAME PLACE.

SAFETY-CLUTCH AFOR INCLINED RAILWAYS, SLC.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 537,783, dated April 16, 1895.

Application filed February 20,1895. Serial No. 539:119- (NO modell) To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MALCOLM C. LITTLE- WORTH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Duluth, in the county of St. Louis and State of Minnesota, have invented certain new `and useful Improvements in Safety-Clutches for Inclined Railways and Elevators; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as Will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same. Y My invention relates to improvements in safety clutch mechanism for incline railways and elevators, and it consists of the combi- I5 nation with suitable cars and guides for the same, of au operating rope connecting said cars, stationary safety ropes, clutches on the respective cars adapted to engage said latter ropes, and connected by an independent rope zo whereby they are simultaneously operated to engage the safety ropes upon the parting of the operating rope.

It also consists of the combination of suitable cars and guides for the same, an operating rop'e connecting said cars, stationary safety ropes, air bilder cylinders having pistons connected to said latter ropes, clutches on the cars adapted to engage said latter ropes, and means for connecting said clutches where- 3o by they are operated to engage the said safety ropes upon the parting of the operating rope.

It also consists in an incline railway, the combination with guides for cars, of an operating rope, safety ropes, and fixed yielding devices to which said safety ropes are attached, and devices on the cars to clutch the safety ropes by the act of theiuoperating rope breaking.

It also consists of certain other novel constructions, combinations and arrangements of parts, all of which will be hereinafter more particularly set forth and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification, Figure 1. represents a top plan view of the devices embodying my invention, applied to an inclined railway. Fig.

2. represents au enlarged plan View of the clutch mechanism. Fig. 8. represents a side elevation of the devices shown in Fig. l.`

ent position, and Fig. 5 is a side elevation of a portion of one of the uprights, showing the buffer cylinder applied to the same. y

A in the drawings represents the frame of an inclined railway; B, the cartrucks mounted on wheels b; O, the pivoted clutch blocks or levers mounted on the trucks; C', the stationy ary clutch frames also mounted on the trucks; D, the stationary safety ropes; D', the air buf- 6o fers connected to said ropes; E, the operating rope; E, the continuous clutch operating rope, and f the spring restrained rope sheave or Wheel for relieving the strain upon said rope.

Each of the car trucks Bis of any ordinary construction employed lin inclined railways to hold the car body in a horizontal position and is provided with a segmental rail b" upon which the free swinging eud of the pivoted clutch block or lever is adapted to slide and 7o be supported. This clutch is pivoted to the under side of the truck frame at c and has the periphery of its outer enlarged free end cut to form a segment of a circle struck fromthe point c. This outer segmental end is provided with a shallow groove c adapted to fit over the safety rope D. The clutch frame C is rigidly mounted upon the under side of the truck with its outer solid head c2 in proximity to the safety rope D. This head c2 is provided with 8o a shallow groove c3 into which the safety rope is forced and held by the action of the clutch block. The said clutch block C is so pivoted in relation to the clutch frame O that the safety rope D will be locked between the two, when the clutch operates, before said block is in a line directly at right angles to the head c2 and thus any additional strain ou the rope D, by the car seeking to descend the incline will only jam the rope more firmly between said 9o clutch and clutch frame; the rope being held or clutched firmly by the grooves in said clutch and clutch frame.

The truck is provided with small grooved wheels b2, b3 which support the rope D so that 95 it always occupies a position directly between the clutch and clutch frame. The upper end of each of the ropes D is connected to the piston rods d of piston d of its respective air buffer cylinder D', by hooks or eyes d5; o-r by any other suitable means, said piston rods each being surrounded at its lower end by a rubber buffer d2 and said cylinders being provided with air ports d3. By this construction when the weight of the cars is thrown upon said ropes D the air buffers operate to relieve the shock to the ropesby the pistons cornro pressing the air before them. The air gradually escapes about the edges of the pistons and through the port-s d3 until the piston heads come into contact with the rubberv buffers d3 which latter lessen the shock to the pistons. These air buffer cylinders are suitably attached to the incline and may either be arranged as shown in Figs. l and 3, ina direct line with said inclines. and the ropes D, or they may be arranged beneath the inzo clines as. shown in Fig. 4f. In this latter case the ropes D pass over grooved wheels d4 at the tops of the inclines and thence down to the piston rods, d to which they are attached; or the cylindrical air buffers may be attached to the upright supports of the railway.

The operating rope E has its opposite ends attached to the trucks B so thatas one car is vpulled up its incline track the other is allowed to movedown its respective-incline. The said 3o rope E passes. about grooved wheels eV at the tops of the inclines and thence is preferably carried to and. about a suitable power drum shown in dotted lines in the drawings.

The. clutch operating rope F has its ends 3 5 attached tothe respective clutch blocks C, C and passes about two fixed revoluble pulleys f, fand one movable pulley f', allof said pulleys being mounted upon thefframe of the inclines near the top of the same. The pulley 4o f is` journaled. between thebifurcated end of a longitudinally movable rod]2 which is provided at its opposite end with a piston head f3. This rod and piston head are adapted to work in a cylinderf4 mounted on the frame of the incline; a coil spring f5 being intcrposed between said piston head and the head of the cylinder so that any forward movement. of said rod f2 will be against the tension of said spring. The oce ofl this movable pul- 5o ley f" is to relieve the sudden shock to the rope F incidental to the breaking of the op erating rope E.

It the operating rope parts the weight of both the cars is instantly thrown upon the clutch operating rope F, which strain causes the blocks C to move forward and jam the safety ropes between them and the clutch f rames which action rel'ievesthe clutch ropes and transfers the strain to said safety ropes;

6o the air buffers preventing any serious shock to said safety ropes. The cars are thus held stationary until the damage can be repaired. Theweight of the blocks. G issuflicient tokeep. them normally out of contact with. the safety ropes.

It will be* seen from the aforegoing that all the parts of'this apparatus arev guarded against e saires any sudden and injurious shock which might disable. the'very devices which were provided for accidents.

When my devices are applied to elevators the car B would of course be of a suitable construction and mounted in suitable guides,

l but the main featuresof the invention would remain unchanged..

for connecting said clutches -on the respective lycars whereby they are simultaneously operl ated to engage the safety ropes upon the partl ing of theoperating rope, substantially as described?.-

2'. The combination with suitable cars and i guides for the same, of an operating rope connecting said cars, stationary safety ropes, and buffer cylinders having pistons connected to f said latter ropes, clutches on the cars adapted toengage said safety ropes, means for connecting said clutches whereby they are operl ated to engage the said safety ropes upon the Iparting of the operating rope, substantially as described.

`, guides for the same, of an operating rope coni necting said cars, stationary safety ropes, l clutches on the respective cars adapted to engage said latter ropes, a rope for connecting said clutches, and spring restrained devices iengaging said rope and allowing it to give under tension; the construction and operation being such that upon the parting of the operating rope the clutches will engageand hold 1 the safety ropes, substantially as described. 4. The combination with suitable cars and guides for the same, of an operating rope connecting said cars, stationary safety ropes, and buffer cylinders having pistons connected to said latter ropes, clutches on the cars adapted `to engage said safety ropes, a rope for con- 1 neetingsaidl clutches anda spring restrained i Wheel engagingy said rope and allowing it to give under tension, substantially as described. 5. The combination with suitable cars and j guides for the same, of an operating rope connecting said cars, stationary safety ropes, pivoted clutch blocks mounted on the trucks, clutch frames mounted in proximity to said blocks, a :rope connecting said clutch blocks whereby upon the parting of the operating i rope the clutches are operated to jam the 5 safety ropes between them and the clutch l frames substantially as described.

6. The combination with suitable cars and guides for the same, of an operating rope coni necting said cars, stationary safety ropes,

' and buers connected to said ropes, pivoted 3.. The combination with suitable cars and ICO clutches mounted on the cars and having peripherally grooved ends adapted to engage the safety ropes, grooved clutch frames on said trucks and also adapted to engage said safety ropes, and means for connecting said clutches whereby they are simultaneously operated upon the parting of the operating ropes, substantially as described.

7. In combination with suitable cars and guides for the same, of an operating rope connecting said cars, stationary safety ropes, pivoted clutch blocks mounted on the trucks, clutch frames mounted in proximity to said blocks, a rope connecting said clutch blocks and a spring restrained wheel engaging said rope and allowing it to give under tension, substantially as described.

S. In an inclined railway, the combination with guides for cars, of an operating rope, safety ropes, and fixed yielding devices to which said safety ropes are attached,deviccs on the cars to clutch the safety ropes by the act of the operating rope breaking.

9. In an inclined railway the combination with guides for cars, of an operating rope, stationary safety ropes, bufferv cylinders having pistons connected with said latter ropes, and clutches on the cars adapted to engage the safety ropes by the act of the operating rope breaking.

1 0. In an inclined railway, the combination with suitable guides for cars to run on, of an operating rope, stationary safety ropes, buffer cylinders located on a suitable support in a plane with the guide and having pistons connected to said latter ropes, and clutches on the cars adapted to engage the safety ropes by the act of the operating rope breaking, substantially as described.

11. In an inclined railway, the combination with suitable guides for a car to run on, of an operating rope, stationary safety ropes, buffer cylinders located on the under side of the inoline and having pistons connected to said latter ropes, and clutches on the cars adapted to engage the safety ropes by the act of the operating rope breaking, substantially as described.

12. In an inclined railway, the combination of suitable guides for cars to run on of an operating rope, stationary safety ropes, buffer cylinders located on one of the upright supports of the railway and having pistons connected to said latter ropes, and clutches on the cars adapted to engage the safety ropes by the act of the operating rope breaking, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I hereunto afiix my signature in presence of two Witnesses..

MALCOLM C. LITTLEWORTH.

Witnessesz,

J AMES T. WATSON, C. W. CROSBY. 

